Sunday, August 12, 2012

little known fact

i always like learning new things about people. i also like holding some things about myself back in reserve to whip out and surprise people at unexpected times. i have one friend, jana, who i've known for about 13 years and we've spent countless hours talking, laughing, and crying together. she thinks she knows me so well, but then out comes something random about my life that makes her shake her head and wonder if she even knows me at all. like the fact that my brother has called me choc for most of my life. and no, it has nothing to do with chocolate.

i'd love to hear something about you. something that maybe is a secret or maybe isn't secretive at all. perhaps it's just something that you haven't thought of in a long time. or something that goes way back to your childhood and has nothing to do with you now, but you can still claim it as your own.

i'll go first.

in my childhood i spent a lot of time swimming. my grandparents had a nice pool and i was always up for any opportunity to go for a dip (not of the skinny variety). i'd taken some swimming lessons over the years and felt that i'd mastered the craft of the different strokes and the end of pool flip, along with some basic dives.

when i was about thirteen, i signed up for synchronized swimming classes to give myself a new water challenge and hopefully become like the awesome ladies in the olympics.

unfortunately, no other people wanted to participate in the class. i went every week for three months and received private lessons, which sounds nice and personal, but actually was a little bit awkward. my instructor never got in the water, so i was only synchronized with myself and my own inadequate rhythm. i learned a few cool pool tricks, like i can float on the top of the water with almost my entire body sticking out, as if i were lying on something just below the surface. and i can flail my legs about out of the water in some fun patterns that look almost fancy, and not so much like a 4 year old does when they first learn to go underwater with their face.

but i never learned the synchronicity part.

how about you? tell me something about yourself. something interesting or obscure.

32 comments:

I wanted to be an Olympic figure skater. We used to have areas behind our house where we would ice skate. Once we were "fighting" for the ice with the boys who came to play hockey. We were there 1st. There was a pile up and as I got up, I accidentally stuck the back of my blade into a boys chin. It was bleeding bad and so I ran all the way home in my skates.

I have a bronze medal from the Jr Olympics in synchronized swimming! From when I was 8. I definitely never knew that you took that up at one point! Why were we never practicing our moves in my backyard pool?

how did i not know that about you? after all the time we spent in your pool together, it seems like it would have come up. or maybe it did and that's why i wanted to take the class and i just don't remember anymore.

I'm really going to think about that one. When I answer, it will be absolutely true. It won't be completely "wiseguy" free, but it will be honest.But, I'm going to bed now.Before I let you go....I can guarantee you that if I "whip it out" someone WILL be surprised at an unexpected time.Now, seriously, did you think I would miss that? ;-)

Okay, I've thought about what I'm going to say. Like I said, though, I'm going to bed.Maybe I'll "whip it out."Mrs. Penwasser will be surprised since it will be unexpected (i.e., she's awake).Yeah, I...just...can't...let...it...go.

A little known fact about me is that I spent two years studying jujitsu and was constantly the worst in the class haha. We would do this wrestling competition at the end of classes and I would always be eliminated in the first round no matter what, it was frustrating.

That swimming story is awesome, massive props to you for going even though no one else did, that's some serious dedication!

my parents never let me quit things that i signed up for. they were big about sticking to your word even if you changed your mind.so do you remember any cool moves from your jujitsu days that you can show off at parties as long as no one wants to challenge you?

When I was 13, I set the woods on fire with the result that seven acres burned down. Oh no, this was not the act of a wanton arsonist, bent on sticking it to the "man" (and countless innocent woodland creatures). No, it was the act of a dope and his friend who were prancing about the woods, playing Army (this probably sounds kinda gay). We followed animal trails, reconnoitered (despite the fact neither of us knew what the word meant), made sharp sticks by which we invaded "minding their own business" anthills, used our air rifle (the ones that made loud "POPS" when you fired them) to pick off unsuspecting picnickers in the park picnic grove (life was sooooo much simpler then. Today we'd-rightly-be arrested), and, when we were ready to leave, decided to "burn all evidence we were ever here" (that is a DIRECT quote). The only problem: Dumb and Dumber didn't bring any water. So, when a spark became a flame and a flame became a conflagration, we did the honorable thing and tried to stomp it out with our feet. When that failed, Smokey Bear and I got on our bikes and got the hell out of there.The next day, as Mal read the paper and saw that all those acres were burned due to "kids with firecrackers" (we didn't have firecrackers-I think they were talking about the gun), all he had to say was "Goddam kids. Where are their frikkin' parents?""Glad I didn't tell him.There are many more stories.Please note I left out the skinny-dipping in the mobile home trailer park on Sunday afternoon.P.S. By the way, Mrs. Penwasser was asleep. So, there I stood.....

Funny...when we were discussing our childhoods with our children last year during our annual Penwasser Brothers Camping Trip (yes...sigh...there were many beers involved), I mentioned this story. My 20 year old nephew was amazed. He said, "I hadn't realized how bad ass you were!"I replied, "You betcher ass. Now, where did I put those Tums? Plus, I really need to pee."By the way, during our camping trip THIS year, we almost burned down the whole GD campground-no lie.

Believe it or not, we weren't drinking. Although, we had beer in the cooler and, since alcohol wasn't allowed in the campground....oh, my, we would have been screwed.Anyway, we left a roll of paper towels sitting on the table next to three lit bug candles. Off go Al and his doofus brothers to Walmart. When we got back, all we saw were ashes on the ground and no paper towels. Apparently, God looks after stupid people. Why the dry leaves all around never caught on fire...which would have set the tents on fire....which would have set trees on fire...which would have spread to other campsites...which would burned down far more than my youthful seven acres...which would have made the news...which would have landed Al in jail...is beyond me Great Googli Moogli, were we lucky, lucky, lucky. Would have been years before THAT story was ever funny.

When I was about 10, I thought I wanted to become a nun. I had pictures on my bedroom wall of sisters from different orders and imagined how I would look in the various habits. I later acquired a few "habits" that would have been seriously frowned on in the convent and totally forgot my childhood dream.

Gosh.....I am trying to think of "something".Let's just say that since as long as I can remember....when visiting my grandparents, we'd go down to the creek (me and the local kids) start a bon fire.Look for some small sticks of driftwoodand SMOKE THEMYeah, it was THAT cool.I am an expert drift wood smoker and finder of the best sticks.

When I was super young I always wanted to be a firefighter. Then one day our local fire station was offering kids a chance to help "put out a fire" with the fire hose during a local carnival. My mom took me, and we stood in line all afternoon, but when it got to be my turn I was too scared of the water pressure to hold the hose. lol. That ended that career path quite quickly.

But that makes you an expert in the event! I think every synchro swimmer should do it solo.

Something obscure? That even some of my closest friends wouldn't necessarily know? Hmmmm... I grew up in a small town outside a small city. There was never anything to do. As kids we used to play on the train tracks. Like, really play on them. We'd stand next to the train as it blew past, basically just asking to die.

As a pre-teen, during one of my first baby-sitting jobs, I dropped the kids into the bath upstairs before bedtime and went down to clean up the dishes from dinner. When I finished, I went in the living room, saw all the toys everywhere and decided to pick them up too. The TV was on and I got distracted by some show on TV and sat down to watch it. I called one of my friends and talked to her while watching the show.

Then when the show ended, I remembered the kids were still in the bath. I went upstairs to get them out. The kids had gotten themselves out and were playing in their rooms naked and a little damp. The bathroom floor was completely flooded since they had turned the spigot back on.

I cleaned up everything, got the kids in bed and waited for their parents to come home. I took my money and a ride home without saying a word about the flooding.

About an hour later, our phone rang and my Mom answered. About 10 minutes or so went by and then my Mom was yelling for me. Apparently, water had soaked through the bathroom flooring, through the floorboards and was dripping from the ceiling of the garage below.

I don't know how the repair costs were handled but I had to babysit the kids free of charge for the next year. I have no idea why they would even have wanted me back in their house and I always felt really uncomfortable around them after that. Plus, the kids were brats. Guess I deserved it.

Good story Sherilinnie. It made me laugh--synchronized swimming without anyone else there.

I played soccer for four summers when I was a kid. I hated it. I did it because it made my dad so excited. I never got one goal in four years, because I probably spent most of my time dancing AWAY from the action.

Hm. I live in this dinky one-light town that I grew up in, and it sure seems like everyone knows everything about you - from that time you got sent to the principal's office in third grade for making frog noises, to that embarrassing event where you first tried alcohol in 9th grade - not a pretty sight. And grounded for what seemed like forever to boot! I guess one thing that just me, my sister and cousin know about is that we used to crawl through the water pipe that ran under our street to the the other side - about a hundred yards. It was super dark and wet in there and of course we could only go single file. When I think about what complete fools we were (a gush of water and we were trapped like rats - and pretty much dead), I am horrified. Where the heck was my mom anyway?! I think that is why I am kind of claustrophobic. I would lose my shit if my kids ever did that!!!

My husband and I were just talking about our little idiosyncracies that no one knows about. One we came up with for me is the I HAVE to make the bed everyday. Even if I am in a hotel. This drives my husband crazy...